Container-making machine



y 1943- AA. ABRAMSON E'iAL, 2,319,099

CONTAINER MAKING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 25. 1940 INVENTOR. ALVIN A. ABRAMSON CARLETO N MANT H EY ATTORNEY.

y 1943- A. A. ABRAMSON ETAL 2,319,099

CONTAINER MAKING MACHINE 4 .N Y v Q R E, Y 2 vs S mww w t .v H F. F. N M T R W5. 9 WA N O h 1 NR A W M MM A a QQ e A0 m V O h T 5 k W E my $3 2 M @5 AA 1 m\ C 0 M WWW M M 9 9. 2 n I M w N g Q & g .5 w N m s i F y 1943- A. A. ABRAMSON ETAL 2,319,099

CONTAINER MAKING MACHINE Filed Nov. 25, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. ALVIN A ABRAM so N BY CARLETON MANTHEY ATTORNEY.

y 1,1943. A,A.ABRAM$ON ETAL 2,319,099

CONTAINER MAKING MACHINE Filed Nov. 25, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. ALVIN A. ABRAMSON BY CARLETON MANTHEY ATTORNEY.

y 1943- A. A. ABRAMSON ETAL 2,319,099

CONTAINER MAKING MACHINE Filed NOV. 25, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 7 0 F l G .13.

. INVENTOR. ALVIN A. ABRAMSON BY CARLETON MANTHEY ATTORNEY.

Patented May 11, 1943 cONTAlNER MAKlNG MACHINE Alvin A. Abramson and Carleton Manthey, St. Louis, Mo., assignors to Central States Paper & Bag Company, St. Louis, 'Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application November 25, 1940, Serial No. 367,004

9 Claims.

This invention relates generally to certain new and useful improvements in container-making machines and, more particularly, to mechanism for forming box-wall members from synthetic plastic material.

Our invention has for its primary objects the provision of container-making machinery of the type stated which is entirely automatic and extremely flexible in operation, being capable of .forming container side walls and similar elements of various different types and sizes in a continuous manner and at unusually high speed from synthetic plastic materials, such, for example, as cellulose acetate, without wrinkling, tearing, or otherwise impairing the transparency of the material.

Our invention also has for further objects the provision of side wall making machinery which is rugged, durable, and economical in construction, which may be simply, quickly, and conveniently adjusted to accommodate materials of different sizes, and which is highly eflicient in the performance of its stated functions.

Our invention also has for an additional object the provision of a transparent container side wall forming strip which is structurally strong and rigid though made of relatively flexible sheet material initially without rigidity.

And with the above and other objects in view, our invention resides in the novel features of form, construction, arrangement, and combination of parts presently described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings (five sheets)- Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a container-making machine constructed in accordance with and embodying our present invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of the machine;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the machine;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the main driving mechanism of the machine;

Figure 51s a fragmentary side elevational view of the stock-roll braking mechanism of the machine;

Figures 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and.13 are fragmentary sectional views of the machine taken, respectively, along the lines 6-5, II, 8-8, 9-9, Ill-Ill, lI-II, l2-I2, and I3-l3, Figure 3;

Figures 14 and 15 are fragmentary sectional Referring now in more detail and by reference characters to the drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of our invention, the contamer-making machine of our invention, generally designated A, includes a frame I formed of suitably connected angle iron members comprising a longitudinal rail 2 extending the full length of the machine and opposed parallel rails 3, I, longitudinally aligned and endwise spaced in the provision of a gap 5, the combined lengths of the rails 3, 4, and gap 5 being equivalent to the total length of the rail 2. The rails 2, 3, 4, are furthermore provided with vertical pairs of end legs 6 and intermediate legs I, the latter being disposed adjacent the gap 5. The legs G. I, and associated rails 2, 3, 4, are transversely connected in frame formation by suitable cross members 8. Inter-mediate the ends of the rail 3, the frame I isprovided with an auxiliary pair of legs 3 transversely connected by a cross member or brace ll, the legs 6, I, 9, all being preferably, though not necessarily, strengthened by conventional diagonal bracing bars II, all as best seen in Figure 1 and for purposes presently fully appearing.

Fixed upon the upper faces of the rails 2, 3, between the gap 5 and the rearward or intake end of the machine A, is a plurality of lmiformly spaced pairs of transversely aligned pillow blocks l2, and similarly mounted upon the rails 2, 3, between the rearward end of the machine A and the first pair of pillow blocks I2, is a pair of transversely aligned slide blocks I3 provided with horizontally shiftable journal members ll adjustably held in place by means of screws I5. Mounted upon the outwardly presented sides of the rails 2, 3, adjacent the first and last pairs of pillow blocks l2, are upwardly projecting pairs of opposed parallel legs I6, and slidably mounted at their ends in and extending between the legs I6 in upwardly spaced parallel registration with the rails 2, 3, respectively, are auxiliary rails I! held in vertically adjusted position by means of screws I8 and provided with a plurality of uniformly spaced pairs of transversely registering pillow blocks IS, the several pairs of pillow blocks I9 being arranged in superposed or vertical alignment with the several pairs of pillow blocks l2. Also mounted on the auxiliary rails I! in superposed vertical alignment with the slide blocks I3, is a pair of transversely registering slide blocks 20 provided with horizontally shiftable journals 2I held in adjusted position by screw 22.

Mounted on the auxiliary legs 9 below the rails 2, 3, is a pair of transversely registering pillow blocks 28, and similarly mounted upon upwardly projecting arms 24 secured at their lower ends respectively to the auxiliary rails II in longitudinal alignment with the legs 8, is a pair of transversely registering pillow'blocks 25. Journaled in and extending horizontally between each of the pairs of pillow blocks l2, l8, are shafts 25, 26, each respectively provided with pairs of shiftable guide pulleys or sheaves 21, 21, having hubs 28, 28', and adjustably secured in place by means of set screws 28, 29, threaded respectively through the hubs 28, 28', for retentive engagement with the shafts 26, 26'. Similarly journaled at their ends in the pillow blocks 28 and 25, respectively, are upper and lower idler shafts 38, 38', likewise provided with shiftable idler pulleys or sheaves 8|, 3i, having hubs 82, 82', and held in place by means of set screws 83, 88'. In any position ofadjustment, the several pairs of pulleys 27!, 2?, 3i, 8!, are preferably set or positioned in respective peripheral registration or alignment, and trained around the aligned pairs of pulleys 2?, 8!, is a pair of belts 84 and around the pulleys 2?, M, is an identical pair of belts 36', the belts 38, 58, being of such thickness as to project beyond the peripheral margins of their respective pulleys, all as best seen in Figure 7 and for purposes presently more fully appearing.

Secured at their ends upon and extending horizontally between the rails 2, S, is a plurality of spaced cross bars 85 provided intermediate their ends with longitudinal slots 38. Disposed approximately midway between the shafts 28, 25, is a pair of laterally spaced, horizontal beadforming bars 3'! provided upon their under faces with downwardly extending leg members 38, which are, in turn, shiftably secured upon the bars 85 by means of clamping bolts 39 extending through the slots for threaded engagement with the legs 88 and provided at their headed ends with suitable washers 48 for engagement with the under side of the slotted cross bars 35. In their opposed lateral faces, the bars 3i are milled outin the provision of longitudinal channels or grooves 4i having an arcuate inner wall or face 42. Above the grooves M, the bars 311 are cut away, as at 43, and secured by means of screws 85 upon such cut away portions 43, are longitudinally extending strips 45 of sum-- cient thickness to be flush upon their outwardly presented faces with the bar face-portion below the grooves 4i and of sumcient width to project downwardly substantially across the grooves ll, thereby restricting the opening into the groove to a relatively narrow slot 48. It should be noted in this connection that, from the so-called rearward or intake end to the forward or discharge end, the grooves 4i gradually decrease in depth and the back wall 4| becomes increasingly more circular, all as best seen in Figures 8 and 9 and for purposes presently more fully appearing. I

Welded or otherwise suitably secured upon the under faces of the bars 31 and extending longitudinally therealong preferably in close proximity to the grooves 4|, are tubular conduits 41 provided at their ends with downwardly extending elbows 48 and nipples 48', which are, in turn, connected by means of conventional unions or other suitable couplings 49 to flexible tubes 58, 5|. At its lower end, the tube 58 is suitably connected to the discharge port of a conventional motor-driven gearpump 52 mounted upon a supporting bracket 53 hung from the end leg 6 and connected at its intake side by means of the nipple 54 to the upper portion of an enclosed oil tank 55. The flexible tube 5| is similarly connected by means of a pipe 58 to the lower portion of the oil tank 55. Suitably mounted within the oil tank 55, is an electric heater-51 conventionally connected through a thermostat 58 to a suitable source of electric current (not shown).

Bolted or otherwise suitably secured upon the outwardly-presented faces of the rear legs 5, is a pair of projecting journal brackets 59, and journaled at its ends therein, is a horizontal shaft 68 provided intermediate the journal brackets 59 with a diametrally enlarged guide roller 8i. Also fixed upon and extending rearwardly from either of the rear legs 6, are transversely aligned horizontal bracket arms 82 conventionally reinforced by diagonal braces 53 and provided at their outer ends with aligned upwardly opening yoke bearings 68 for removably and rotatably supporting a horizontal shaft 55. At one of its ends, the shaft 55 projects beyond the yoke bearing 88 and is provided with for engagement with the peripheral face of the wheel or drum 86. Swingably mounted upon the arm 88 by means of a link 18, is a companion-shaped brake arm ll likewise provided with a central brake band section 12 for engage-- ment withthe peripheral face of the wheel or drum 58 in opposed relation to the brake band section 88 and rotatably provided at its outer or free end with a wing bolt I3 adapted for threaded engagement in the opposed outer or free end of the brake arm 58 for increasing or decreasing the frictional force with which the wheel or drum is engaged, all as best seen in Figure 5.

Intermediate the yoke bearings 84, the shaft 85 is shiftably provided with a pair of opposed frusto-conical stock-roll bearing sleeves i4, '85, the sleeve 14 being adjustably held in place by means of a radial set-screw 16. Also shiftably I mounted upon the shaft 65 outwardly of the sleeve 15, is an auxiliary sleeve 11 adjustably held in place by a radial set-screw I8 and provided with a diametrally reduced threaded hub I9 for accommodating an internally threaded adjustment sleeve 88 provided with a plurality of radial handles 8| and having endwise abutting engagement on its outer end face against the opposed or outer end face of the sleeve 15, all as best seen in Figure 6 and for purposes presently fully appearing.

Welded or otherwise suitably secured upon the upper face of the rails 2, 3, just forwardly of the forward auxiliary rail adjustment screws I8, is a pair of upstanding transversely aligned posts 82, and journaled at its ends in and extending horizontally between the posts 82 in horizontal alignment with the shafts 28, is a driven shaft 83 provided intermediate its ends with a diametrally enlarged roller 84, Shiftably mounted in the upper end of each of the posts 82, is a vertically shiftable journal block 85 adjustably held by means of a screw 88, and journaled at its ends in and extending horizontally between the blocks 85, is a shaft 81 provided intermediate its ends with an auxiliary roller 88 preferably of the same diametral size as the driven roller 84. I

Bolted or otherwise suitably secured upon the upper faces of the rails 2, 3, forwardly of the posts 82, is a U-shaped bridge-plate 89 having upwardly and inwardly inclined legs 90 and a horizontal web section 9|, the upper and horizontal face of which is disposed in a horizontal plane which extends substantially midway between the shafts :6, 2s'. The forward transverse margin of the bridge-plate web 9| projects slightly over the gap 5 in the provision of a shearing edge s, and bolted or otherwise fixed upon the upper face of the bridge-plate web 9I, is a fixed guide 92 formed of L-shaped angle section and having an upstanding or vertical flange 93. Shiftably mounted also upon the upper face of the bridge-plate web 9|, is an adjustable guide 94 having an upstanding flange 95 and a pair of horizontal legs 96 provided with longitudinal slots 91 for slidably embracing upstanding threaded studs 98 fixed in the bridge-plate web 9|, and, in turn, provided at their upper ends with wing nuts 99 for retentive or clamping engagenient against the upper faces of the legs 96, all as best seen in Figure 11.

Welded or otherwise rigidly secured upon the outwardly presented faces of the rails 3, 4, on opposite sides of the gap 5, is a pair of aligned bearing brackets I for rotatively accommodating a shaft IOI projecting at its ends therethrough, and keyed or otherwise fixed upon the shaft IOI intermediate the journal brackets I00, is a hubbed disk I02 having a fiat radial end face I03 aligned with the gap 5. Bolted or otherwise removably secured upon the end face I03, is an elongated knife bar I04 adapted to sweep through the gap and provided upon its one lateral face with a knife blade I for shearing co-operation with the shearing edge 3 of the bridge-plate web 9|. At its outer or free end, the knife bar I04 passes between; opposed upstanding steadying guides I08 respectively bolted or otherwise secured upon the bridge-plate web 9| and rail 2 on opposite sides of the gap 5, all as best seen in Figures 1 and 11.

Fixed upon the rails 2, 4, forwardly of the gap 5, is a pair of upstanding posts I01, and journaled at its ends in and extending between the posts I01, is an idler shaft I08 provided with a roller I09. Adjacent their upper ends, each of the posts I01 is further provided with a vertically shiftable journal block I I0 held in any selected position of adjustment by means of a screw III, and journaled in, and extending horizontally between the journal blocks H0, is an idler shaft II2 likewise provided with a pulley I I3 vertically aligned with, and of substantially the same diametral size as, the pulley I09. Similarly fixed upon the rails 2, 4, adjacent the forward ends thereof, is a second pair of transversely aligned upstanding posts II4 likewise rotatably supporting a horizontal drive shaft II5 provided with a roller II 6 horizontally aligned with, and of the same diametral size as, the pulley I09. The posts II4 are each likewise provided with vertically shiftable bearing blocks II1 held in any selected position of adjustment by the screws I I8 for rotatably supporting an auxiliary drive shaft II9, which is, in turn, provided with a relatively narrow pulley I20 vertically aligned with and of the same diametral size as the roller I I6. Trained around the rollers I09, H6, is a relatively wide endless conveyor belt I2l, and similarly trained around the pulleys "I I3, I20, is a relatively narrow endless belt I22, the belts I2I, I22, being adapted to substantially meet and engage on the r upper and lower horizontalruns, respectively, all as best seen in Figures 1 and 12 and for purposes presently more fully appearing.

The forward legs 6 are extended upwardly above the rails 2, 4, and upon their forwardly presented faces. are provided with upper and lower pairs of horizontally registering pillow blocks I23, I24, and journaled at their ends in and extending between the pairs of pillow blocks I23, I24, are vertically aligned horizontal shafts I25, I26. Keyed or otherwise fixed upon the shaft I25, is a pair of disks I21 having oppositely presented peripheral fianges I28 for supporting a plurality of horizontal bars I29 secured by clamp blocks I30 and co-operative clamp screws I3I and provided with outwardly presented arcuate faces I32. Similarly keyed or otherwise fixed upon the shaft I26, is a pair of disks I33 of the same diametral size as the disks I21 and likewise provided with oppositely presented peripheral flanges I34. Similarly clamped to the peripheral flanges I34 by means of clamp blocks I35 and clamp screws I36, are horizontal bars I31 each provided upon its outer face with a projecting crease-forming ridge I38 and each furthermore being positioned for matching registration with one of the bars I29. The bars I31 are furthermore provided upon their inner faces with conventional electric resistance heater elements I39, which are connected by means of wires I 40 to a pair of concentric slip rings I mounted upon an annular dielectric ring I42 fixed upon the outwardly presented face of one of-the disks I33. Mounted upon the inner face oi. one of the leg members 6, is a pair of conventional brushes I43 positioned for current-conducting engagement with the slip rings I and conventionally connected by means of a conduit I44 to any suitable source of electric current (not shown).

The forwardmost pair of shafts 26, 26', project laterally beyond the rail 3 and are provided on their projecting ends with meshing pinions I45, I45, and outwardly of the pinion I45 the shaft 26 is further provided with a large driving sprocket I46, which is connected by means of a sprocket chain I41 to the driving sprocket I48 of a conventional reduction gear assembly I49, which is, in turn, directly connected to an electric motor I50 suitably mounted upon a fioor pedestal I 5I beneath the frame I and conventionally connected to a source of electric current (not shown). The shafts 83, 81, also project laterally beyond the rail 3 and are provided with meshing pinions I52, I52; Rotatively mounted upon a cross shaft I 53 fixed in and projecting outwardly from the rail 3, is a drive gear I54 having meshing engagement both with the pinion I52 and the pinion I45. Outwardly of the pinion I52, the shaft 83 is provided with a small pinion I55 having meshing engagement with an idler gear I56 rotatably mounted on a stub shaft I51 fixed in and projecting outwardly from the rail 3. Likewise rotatably mounted on a third stub shaft I58 fixed in and projecting outwardly from the rail 3 is a compound pinion I59 having a spur gear portion I meshing with the idler gear I51 and a miter gear portion I6I having meshing engagement with a companion miter gear I62 pinned on the rearwardly projecting end of the knife blade shaft IOI, all as best seen in Figures 1 and 4.

The shaft I53 also projects outwardly beyond the rail 2 and is provided on its projecting end with a miter gear I having meshing engagement with a companion miter gear I64 keyed or pinned upon the rearwardlyprojecting end of a longitudinally extending, horizontal jack shaft I85 suitably journaled in a bracket I66 fixed upon and projecting outwardly from the rail 2. At its forward end, the jack shaft IE5 is pinned in a tubular sleeve I61, which is, in turn, provided at its forward end with a diametrally enlarged concentric disk I68.

Bolted or otherwise fixed upon and extending outwardly from the rail 2, is an auxiliary journal bracket I69 for rotatablysupporting an auxiliary shaft I in axial alignment with the jack shaft I85 and provided at its rearward end with a face wheel I! I disposed in endwise abutting rotative engagement with the end face of the disk I88 and releasably' secured thereto by means of a plurality of clamp blocks I'I2 bolted adjacent the periphery of, and extending rearwardly from, the face wheel I'll for clamping engagement with the peripheral area of the rear face of the disk I68. Keyed or otherwise suitably fixed upon the forward end of the auxiliary shaft I10, is a miter gear II3having meshing engagement with a matching'miter gear I14 pinned or otherwise suitably fixed upon the projecting end of the shaft I25. Also on its projecting end and inwardly of the miter gear I14, the shaft I25 is provided with a relatively large spur gear H5 having meshing engagement with an identical spur gear I'IG fixed upon the projecting end of the shaft I26.

Mounted on and projecting laterally from the rail 2, is a shorthorizontal stub shaft I" for rotatably supporting an idler gear I18 having meshing engagement with the spur gear I and also having meshing engagement with an identical gear I19 fixed upon the projecting end of the shaft H5 and, in turn, having meshing engagement with another identical gear I80 fixed upon the projecting end of the shaft II9, all as best seen in Figure 1.

.In use, a roll R of sheeted transparent plastic material, such as cellulose acetate, Cellophane", or similar material, is mounted on the supporting sleeves I4, I5, as shown in Figure 6, and the threaded sleeve 80 turned up, so that the roll R is held tightly on the shaft 65. The wing nut I3 is tightened sumciently to place the desired amount of braking restraint upon the drum or wheel 66, so that the shaft 55 and the roll R will not unwind too freely. An end of the plastic sheet or strip 1' is unwound and fed over the roller GI. justed or positioned along the supporting bars 35, so that the strip 1' when fed therethrough will marginally enter the grooves 4I through the slots. Furthermorathe auxiliary rails II are adjusted vertically by turning the screws I8, so that the opposed horizontal runs of the belts 34, 34, will be sufiiciently close together to grip and feed the plastic strip 1' into and through the grooves 4! of the bead-forming bars 31, all as best seen in Figure 7.

Meanwhile the heater element 51 in the oil reservoir 55 has been energized and the oil therein brought up to the desired temperature. The hot oil has, furthermore, been pumped by means of the gear pump 52 through the bead-forming bars 31 for a sufficient length of time to bring the bars 81 up to the desired temperature.

Thus, when the motor I50 is energized, the sprocket I45 will be turned by the chain I41 and The bead-forming bars 31 are then ad-' the pinion I45 will correspondingly drive the pinions I45 and the idler gear I54, which, in turn, drives the meshing pinions I52, I52. Upon rotation of tho pinions I45, I45, the shafts 25, are correspondingly rotated, driving the belts 34, 34', and moving. the plastic strip 1- through the channels 4| of the heated bead-forming bars 31. Due to the heat and the progressive contour of the channels H, the marginal portions of the strip r soften and will begin to curl at the rear- .ward or intake end of the bars 31, as shown in Figure 8, and will utimately be bent over in the formation of a complete bead at the forwarder discharge end of the bars 31, as shown in Figure 9. It should be noted' in this connection that the oil travels through the conduits M in a direction concurrent with the direction of movement of the strip r, so that the portion of the I grooves M at which the peripheral margins of the strip r initially begin to curl will be at the highest temperature. It is, accordingly, possible where necessary to obtain a temperature gradient along the grooves 4| such that the completely a formed bead, as it nears'the discharge end of the grooves M, will begin to cool and take on a permanent set, ,thereby insuring against collapse or undesired idistortion of the bead as the strip moves forwardly away from the bead-forming in turn, drives the pinion I60 and its associated bevel gear section IBI and the matching bevel gear I62 for rotating the knife blade shaft IN and intermittently causing the knife blade I05 to sweep downwardly across and shear oil? the beaded strip. It will, of course, be evident that the length of the strip which is cut oif will depend upon the ratio of the several gears in the above described gear train and, by changing this gear ratio, the length of beaded strip may be varied to meet any given requirement. 7

By reason of th fact that the lineal feed of the strip r is continuous and the cutting action of the knife blade I05 is of essentially intermittent character, the strip 1' will be held momentarily stationary as the-cut is made and the uncut portion of the beaded strip will tend to bow up slightly in back of the knife during this momentary stoppage to compensate for the continuous lineal movement. For this reason, and also in order to permit the bead to cool sufficiently to become rigid, the bridge-plate 89 should be fairly wide lengthwise of the machine. In this same connection, it should be pointed out thatthe guide flanges 93, 95, should be high enough to hold the beaded strip 1 against sidewise bending or buckling and force the bead to bow or bend in a substantially vertical or upward direction during the cutting interval to insure a smooth and accurately sheared transverse margin in the cut or severed strip sections. It 'will also be evident that the strip 1' cannot be fed into the machine at the beginning of operations with any very great accuracy in reference to the timing of the knife blade I05. Hence the initial strip which is cut ofi or severed will in all probability be of inaccurate length and should be discarded. All other succeeding strip sections, however, will be severed accurately at the desired length.

As the severed cut-off beaded strips are fed forwardly between the belts I2I, I22, they pass between the shafts I25, I26, and are intermittently pinched, as shown in Figure 15, between the successive pairs of bars I29, I31, in the formation of a side wall strip B provided along its longitudinal margins with integral beads I) having spaced pairs of transversely aligned creases or indentations d, as shown in Figure 16. The strip B, although formed of material which is initially flexible and relatively non-rigid, will in finished form be substantially rigid and, at the same time, be foldable along lines extending between the pairs of indentations d to form an upstanding container side wall.

The bars I29, I31, are heated by the electric heater elements I39, so that the crease or deformation it will be formed permanently and without crushing, tearing, or otherwise destroying the bead b on either side of such deformations d. In this connection, it will be obvious that the speed of rotation of the bar-carrying shafts I25, I26, and the associated bar-carrying disks I21, I33, will be dependent upon the ratio of the miter gear I63 to the several gears of the main driving gear train, above described.

As shown, the machine A is designed to make four equally spaced indentations in the bead b of each cut-01f length of beaded strip, so that the finished strip B, when discharged into a suitable hopper (not shown), will be adapted for bending and endwise lapping in the formation of a foursided container-forming tube, as more fully illustrated and discussed in my co-pending application, Serial No. 367,003, filed contemporaneously herewith. It will, of course, be immediately apparent that, by changing the relative position of the bars I29, I31, the creases or deformations d may be placed at differently spaced intervals for forming a container side wall strip adapted to be fabricated into an oblong, rather than square, container, and similarly, by increasing or decreasing the number of matching pairs of bars I29, I31, it is possible to provide a container side wall forming strip adapted to form a polygonal container of any desired number of sides. Finally, by disconnecting the jack shaft I65 and the auxiliary shaft I and manually rotating the shafts I25, I26, so that none of the pairs of bars I29, I31, are in position to engage the cut-ofi strips, it is possible to provide an entirely uncreased or undented strip which I may be employed to form a circular container side wall.

It will also be evident that, by changing the axial spacing between the pairs of pulleys 21, 21', 3|, and 3i, and also by changing the transverse distance between the bead-forming bars 31, all as above described, and accordingly employing a roll of stock of appropriate width, it will be possible to fabricate container side wall forming strips of any desired width for forming container side walls of a corresponding height. Similarly, by removing the several intermeshing gears and pinions which form the driving mechanism and substituting gears and pinions of different ratio, it is possible to provide container side wall forming strips of different lengths, which, in turn, may be formed into containers of correspondingly different peripheral size It should be understood that changes and modifications in the form, construction, arrangepath, means adjacent said ment, and combination of the several parts of the container-making machine may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the nature and principle of our invention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A container-making machine comprising means for feeding a strip of transparent container-forming material along a predetermined path for engaging a longitudinal margin of the strip and forming a bead therealong, and heated means for forming transverse indentations in the bead.

2. A container-making machine comprising means for feeding a strip, of transparent container-forming material forwardly along a predetermined path, means adjacent said path for engaging a longitudinal margin of the strip and forming a bead therealong, and heated means spaced forwardly of the bead-forming means for creasing the bead to produce a narrowly restricted area of deformation while leaving the bead substantially unchanged in cross-sectional contour immediately adjacent to and on either side of the area of deformation.

3. A container-making machine comprising means for feeding a strip of transparent container-forming material along a predetermined path, means adjacent said path for engaging and shaping the longitudinal margins of the strip into spaced parallel beads imparting longitudinal rigidity to the strip, and means for forming transversely aligned pairs of indentations in the bead to produce a narrowly restricted area of deformation while leaving the bead substantially unchanged in cross-sectional contour immediately adjacent to and on either side of the area of deformation.

4. A container-making machine comprising means for feeding a strip of transparent container-forming material along a predetermined path, means adjacent said path for engaging and shaping the longitudinal margins of the strip into spaced parallel beads imparting longitudinal rigidity to the strip, and heated means operable in timed relation to the feeding means for forming pairs of transversely aligned indentations in the beads at spaced intervals longitudinally of the strip.

5. A container-making machine comprising means for feeding a strip of transparent container-forming material forwardly along a predetermined path, means adjacent said path for engaging a longitudinal margin of the strip and forming a bead therealong, means positioned forwardly of the bead-forming means for cutting the beaded strip into sections, and heated means positioned forwardly of the cutting means for forming indentations in the bead of the severed sections.

6. A container-making machine comprising means for feeding a strip of transparent container-forming material along a predetermined path, means adjacent said path for engaging and shaping the longitudinal margins of the strip into spaced parallel beads imparting longitudinal rigidity to the strip, means for transversely severing the beaded strip in the formation of sections of predetermined length, and heated means for forming longitudinally spaced pairs of transversely aligned indentations in the beads of the severed sections.

7. A container-making machine comprising means for feeding a strip of transparent confor momentarily engaging and moving with thestrip. one bar of each pair being providedwith electric heating elements, slip ring means associated with the bars, and brushes engageable with the slip rings for supplying electrical current to the heating elements for heating the bars and thereby permanently forming transverse indentations in the bead.

9. A container-making machine comprising feeding means for progressing a flexible strip of container-forming material forwardly along a predetermined path while engaging said material 8.10lig both its upper and lower faces to prevent any buckling of the material, means adjacent said path for engaging a longitudinal margin of the strip and forming a bead thereon, cut-of! means adapted for severing the strip along a straight line at right angles to its path of movement, said cut-off means being positioned in forwardly spaced relationship to the feeding means, 7

guide means interposed between the feeding means and the cut-ofl means for engaging the lengthwise margins of the strip. said strip otherwise being unconfined on at least one of its flat faces so that the strip may flex along that portion of its length extending between the feeding means and the cut-off means, whereby the forward travel of that portion of the strip adjacent to the cut-oi? means will be momentarily arrestedduring the strip severing operation while permitting the feeding means to remain in continuous operation.

ALVIN A. ABRAMSON. CARLETON'. MANTHEY. 

